Snap-on insulator



Sept. 20, 1955 T. D. THURMAN SNAP-ON INSULATOR Original Filed Nov. 21, 1947 INVENTOR I'EUMA N D THUG W14 A! ATTORNEYS United States. Patent SNAP-ON INSULATOR Truman D. Thurman, Memphis, Tenn.

Substituted for abandoned application Serial No. 787,355, November 21, 1947. This application August 27, 1954, Serial No. 452,604

2 Claims. (Cl. 174164) This invention relates to improvements in insulator devices, and is directed more particularly to a unique nonconductor of electricity, which is adapted to be associated with electrical fences, which, as is commonly known, consist of one or more lengths of wire which are electrically charged and adapted to protect a given area against unwanted exit or entrance.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide an inexpensive device which may be easily snapped around the strand of wire and fastened to suitable supports, such as a wooden post or a metal post, which are spaced at proper intervals around the area.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a socalled snap-on insulator for the purpose above mentioned which is preferably formed of a relatively stiff somewhat resilient plastics material. Such material is inexpensive and has the advantage of being readily shaped so as to provide the construction here desired. Also, such material is waterproof, which is a desired factor in devices of this type, since of course, they are constantly subjected to the elements.

A further advantage of using a suitable plastic, other than its insulating qualities, is that from a manufacturing standpoint the same may be readily bent to have peculiar characteristics which render the insulator of this invention more suitable than the conventional porcelain insula tor. Furthermore, a plastic non-conductor is lighter in weight with the result that the insulator of this invention produces a great saving in shipping costs.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be described more in detail in the following description, and reference will be had therein to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the body member of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of what is shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the device of the invention associated with a wooden fence post, with a strand of wire in assembled relation therewith;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of one form of fastening member;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view showing the device of the invention in assembled relation with a metal fence post; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, the invention will be fully described, as shown in the various figures.

The device of the invention is shaped in what may be referred to as an odd-shaped U. That is to say, it includes a pair of arms 4 which are more or less in parallelism, and before the device is fastened in position, the arms will be spaced apart, as shown in Figure 1, the same eventually being adapted to be brought into adjacency through means of the fastening device and due to the resiliency of the material.

The forward arm slopes downwardly and forwardly, as shown, through what may be called a toe portion 8. This i'ice toe portion is looped upwardly and then curves rearwardly and downwardly to a heel portion 10, which continues into the rear arm 4.

The upper surfaces of the double arms 4 are preferably rounded, as clearly indicated in Figure 2, to assist rainwater and the like in running around the insulator and down a fence post. A further protection against the elements is to slope the forward arm, as shown, and concaving the under side of the toe so that the rainwater will easily run down over the slope and away from the insulator.

The upper end portions of the arms 4 are provided with suitable coinciding apertures 12 for receiving a nail or other suitable fastener which will eventually be described. If desired, the inside surface of the loop 8 may be arched slightly and this arch is adapted to conform with the natural sag of the fence wire indicated by the letter W, which extends through the loop whereby the wire will not bind on the otherwise sharp edges of the insulator itself.

With reference to Figure 3, there is shown a wooden fence post 20 having the device of the invention attached thereto, with the rear arm 4 resting against the post and the wire W in snapped engagement with the insulator. According to this embodiment of the invention, the fastening device consists of a so-called double headed nail or washer headed nail consisting of a pointed part 30 having a head 32 and a washer portion 34 fixed on the main body of the nail forwardly of the head thereof. This is so that as the fastening device is driven through the insulator and into the fence post, the insulator is protected from the hammer blows, and it has the further advantage of providing a space between the washer and the head of the nail for a claw hammer or similar tool to catch hold and withdraw the same without injury to the material of which the nonconductor is made.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figures 5 and 6. While the conductor itself does not diflfer in form from that previously described, it is shown in association with a metal fence post 40, which usually will consist of an angle iron having legs 42 and 44 in the relation shown in Figure 6. When the device is associated with such a fence post, it has been found desirable to use a different type of fastening means, namely, a threaded bolt 50 which extends through the coinciding apertures 12 and an aperture formed in the leg 42 and which is secured in place by means of the nut 51, as shown in Figure 6.

It will thus be seen that there is here provided an insulator which may be readily snapped around a standard strand of electric fence barbed wire or the like, and that the insulator may be conveniently fastened to either a wooden fence post or a metal one. In any event, the device may be readily removed when the fence is to be taken down without injury either to the fence or insulator, which is an economical feature to be desired.

This application is a substitute of application Serial No. 787,355, filed November 21, 1947, now abandoned for snap-on insulator.

Having thus described the invention what is new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An insulator for electrified fence wires or the like, comprising an inner fiat vertical arm adapted to engage a side of a fence post and provided with an opening near its upper end, the bottom end of the inner vertical arm being bent outwardly and upwardly to form an inner curved depending loop, the outer side of said inner loop being bent outwardly and downwardly to form an intermediate upwardly projecting locking loop having a substantially vertical outer side and a curved upper end, the substantially vertical outer side being bent outwardly and upwardly to form an outer curved depending fence wire receiving loop extending below the inner depending loop, and an outer upwardly and inwardly inclined arm integral with the outer side of the fence wire receiving loop and including a substantially vertical upper end portion adjacent to the upper end of the inner vertical arm, said upper end portion having an opening adjacent to the opening of the inner vertical arm, said openings being adapted to receive a fastening element for securing the insulator to the fence post, said inner depending loop and said outer fence wire receiving loop being resilient.

2. An insulator for electrified fence wires or the like, comprising an inner fiat vertical arm adapted to engage a side of a fence post, the bottom end of the inner vertical arm being bent outwardly and upwardly to form an inner curved depending loop, the outer side of said inner loop being bent outwardly and downwardly to form an intermediate upwardly projecting locking loop having a substantially vertical outer side and a curved upper end, the substantially vertical outer side being bent outwardly and upwardly to form an outer curved depending fence wire 5 receiving loop extending below the inner depending loop, and an outer upwardly and inwardly inclined arm integral with the outer side of the fence wire receiving loop and including a substantially vertical upper end portion adjacent to the upper end of the inner vertical arm, the upper 10 end portions of said outer inclined arm and of said inner fiat arm being adjacent each other, and being each adapted to be secured to a fence post.

No references cited. 

